Vacuum Tube Atari Punk Console
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- Опубликовано: 7 авг 2024
- Happy New Year! To kick the new year off, we’re going to do something completely out of the norm - we’re building DIY synth stuff out of vacuum tubes! Well, maybe that’s not totally out of the norm, haha. The Atari Punk Console is one of the most quintessential circuits you can build when taking your first steps into the world of DIY synth stuff, so I figured why not make it out of vacuum tubes!
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Music:
Artist: Sir_NutS
Title: FTL: Faster Than Light "An Open Galaxy"
ocremix.org/remix/OCR03963
Intro Music adapted from:
Artist: The Runaway Five
Title: The Shinra Shuffle
ocremix.org/remix/OCR01847
Thanks for watching!
Chapters
0:00 Intro
3:08 555 timer kit update
4:13 What I got wrong in this version
5:13 Testing the 555 timer kit
7:25 Two 555 timers = Atari Punk Console
10:46 Building a better APC
12:44 First tests
14:12 What I got wrong
15:04 The schematic
17:35 What if we try a different tube?
19:31 Testing even more tubes in it
21:31 Thoughts
23:17 Bunny! 
Наука
yes! awesome±!±
Usagi Punk Console KOSMO module confirmed?
Thank you!
If I were to put this in a box and ship it in your general direction, do you think you might be able to find a small corner for it in the museum? I would love to contribute something to the museum and this seems like a great candidate!
@@IgnacyG1998 An all tube KOSMO DIY synth is one of my new goals for 2022!
ah My Life 😍😍😍
Haha i knew id find sam here
For a smaller channel, these videos are so absurdly high quality. Truly amazing. Also, what schematic tool is that with included oscilloscope simulation?
That’s a really good point. I certainly hope to borrow some production techniques. This channel should have more followers. Time to pimp it on Facebook.
Thank you so much! I'm still not that great at editing videos, but I try to make them look as good as I can. I still have a long ways to go, but it's nice to hear that the videos are looking good!
The simulation tool is called TINA TI. You have to import the tube models separately, but it is based on the SPICE framework, so it's decently accurate. Here's a link to the website: www.ti.com/tool/TINA-TI
@@MadScientistGuitarLab Thank you so much! I don't really do anything fancy, just a lot of cutting and sneakily splicing things together!
I thought I left this comment yesterday but can't find it. I really wanted to thank you for using real music in your videos instead of the 16 bar brain-dead loops that a lot of people use. I find the loops so annoying that I won't watch those videos.
This was a great project. I like the comment about using the CV and freq modulation.
Thanks for all you do.
Thank you!
RUclips's commenting system is a mess honestly. It's super hard for me to keep track of replies to comments, and even now, I have to reload the page everytime I reply to a comment, or nothing loads properly. So don't feel bad if your comment got lost, it was most definitely RUclips's fault, haha.
I get all my music from OCRemix, which should be totally okay to use, but I do get dinged with a copyright claim on the occasion. Still, it's worth it to have real music by talented people playing, I think it makes a huge difference to the watch-ability!
You, sir, are a steely-eyed missle man! I love all this content. Great show, but I can't resist paraphrasing from Treasure of the Sierra Madre. "Bodges? We ain't got no bodges. We don't need no bodges. I don't have to show you any stinking bodges!"
Had the same idea, but chose to butcher it from the Blazing Saddles parody of those same lines!
Haha, thank you!
You can make a logarithmic pot from a linear one by adding a parallel resistance between the ground contact and the wiper (IIRC). I know I've done this in the past, since linear pots are cheaper and easier to buy on eBay (and I am quite frugal). As a downside the total resistance of it will differ depending on where the wiper is, so it might or might not not be suitable for your circuit.
Also, some of the cheaper pots are actually made kind of like this, with a smaller resistance on the bottom of the rotation and a higher resistance at the top. I have to admit, I never thought of the parallel resistance, what a great idea!
Oooh, that's a really brilliant idea! I need to do some rework on the bottom side to get the gain potentiometer set up properly, so when I do that, I may sneak in an extra resistor to give it a little more logarithmic properties!
Thats frigging awesome. Next step: make it into a Eurorack module.
Thanks!
I do really want to build up a full low voltage tube Eurorack synthesizer one of these days! I have a few projects that are currently consuming an inordinate amount of time, but once I wrap up a few of them, I'm going to start leaning more into the audio stuff!
Super fun! Happy new year! Looking forward to that kit being ready!
Thank you so much!
Though, I'm not sure this one will be a kit in its current form. An Usagi Punk module that fits into a DIY synth? Now that's something that is definitely planned for the future!
I love your stuff. Lol. You excitement is always contagious. 😊
Thank you so much!
It's always exciting when the electrons do what you ask them to!
Happy New You to you too. This video is an awesome start to the new year, Love synth stuff as well.
You know my mind keeps thinking, I hope he adds some retro beeps and click sound to the vacuum tube computer.
Thank you!
I'm not sure the tube computer would have enough processing speed to do anything audio related, but once I get the teletype hooked up to it, it'll certainly make some noise!
The original circuit could make a sound like a violin string being plucked as well as a lot of cool sounds.
I was surprised at how many weird and interesting sounds this little thing could make.
Changing out the tubes can give even different sounds and if recording those, you could mix it all together to make some really weird and fun stuff!
Really fantasic video, I loved it! Super well made. Keep going - videos like this will be earning a lot of views some day soon as more people discover your awesome experiments!
Thank you so much!
I'm having a ton of fun building this little projects up, and it means a ton to hear that people are enjoying the videos too!
The ultimate analog synths use vacuum tubes! I would like more, please!
Thank you!
And there's definitely more on the way! The next project is actually not exactly synth related, but a low voltage vacuum tube OTL amplifier. Then I want to build some synth modules following the Kosmo format as well as a 4- or 5-key keyboard that I can use as input to the synth modules.
Lot's of audio/synth stuff planned for 2022!
I sttill hope you will make a full tube pong system XD
also I hope to have one of those 555's one day and make a stylophone with it
Great video and project! Please make more diy vacuum tube synth stuff!! 🙏
0:27 Beautiful! It looks like an aerial view of an entire city at night.
Thanks!
The vacuum tube computer is coming together really nicely and I love playing around with it at night just to see the glow!
Definitely a cool project. Also, the shot of the Forrest Mims notebook was a wave of nostalgia and good feelings as I remembered going through them years ago when learning electronics haha.
I remember making a 555 "theremin" back in the day. I'm sure you could do it much better if you're looking for more synth projects!
Thank you!
Yeah, I tried to find both the first example of the "stepped tone generator" and the first use of the term "Atari Punk Console." The Mims notebook was an awesome find with a ton of great 555 circuits, but I couldn't find the first official use of the term "Atari Punk Console". Still, I would say the Mims notebook is an excellent resource for electronics hobbyists even today!
It sounds like an early racing game sound.
I'm not going to lie, I on more than one occasion, played with the knobs to get it to sound like an engine revving up and shifting through the gears, haha.
That's awesome. Happy new year.
Thank you! And Happy New Year to you and your too!
You are a hero! Man, have i been secretly hoping you would be going down that rabbit hole
This is a crazy deep rabbit hole, but I've been quite excited thinking about other audio projects I can tackle!
Amazing!
I once built a ttl logic sound circuit, while in INTRO toELECTRONICS in college.. that clearly produced the sounds from PAC-MAN.. Eating the dotss... the kill sound.. and it could do manyt others. I wish I still had that circuit. It used 14 or 15 SN740X ic chips.. It had waveform generators.. and all kinds of stuff, and it was created by accident.. a variation from the lesson plan..
Is that list of projects from a Forrest Mims book (possibly The 555 Timer Cookbook)? Man, I remember those being sold at Radio Shack for just a few dollars. (They are up on the Internet Archive now...)
I think it might work a little better if you decouple the B+ line, otherwise your astable multivibrator will affect the monostable multivibrator by inducing unwanted switching noise in the B+ line.
Other than thaf, it is really cool!
Yes, please more synths!
Gosh, beautiful!!! 😍⚡🎛️🤖💥
Thank you so much!
Just found your stuff. Awesome channel. Subbed :D
Thank you so much!
Your passion is amazing dude 👋
Thank you so much!
Yes!! More Sinth Stuff !!
I have a whole lot of synth stuff I really want to tackle in 2022! From amplifiers to DIY modules following the KOSMO format and so on. I'm a terrible musician, but I find the synth circuits to be really fascinating, especially when building them from tubes!
What CNC setup are you using? A video on that would be helpful. Love your videos and content, really high quality all round. Are the component wire holes also drilled with the CNC? What PCB layout software do you use please? Love the idea of cutting the traces, a great way to make bespoke chunky boards for big valve/tube and through hole components.
Happy New Year to you. :)
Thank you!
I do actually have a video planned about my entire PCB production process from start to finish covering software used, how I set up the mill, and the cost per board compared to a manufacturer. I've got a video going live tomorrow, and the next week will be about repairing the HP 150A, and then it should be the video on the PCB production!
To answer your questions right quick in short form though, I'm using DesignSpark PCB to layout all my PCBs, then I export the design to Gerber files, which I then open with FlatCAM and convert to G Code. Once I have the G Code, I set up the Bridgeport EZ Trak with the PCB, zero my X, Y and Z, and then hit go. Once the isolation cuts have finished, I do a quick tool change to a 0.9mm drill bit, and the CNC then drills all the through holes. Finally, I do one more tool change to a 1.5mm end mill bit and do the outline cut.
when i see the tube based 555 it gives me fuzy feelings xD
I'm quite excited about it! It's slowly getting there!
"We don't need no stinkin bodges" Great idea! Great vid-j-o! Thanks!
Thank you!
Unfortunately, I think I'm going to need some bodges to fix the volume potentiometer, haha.
This one really tickled the little grey cells and got me thinking!
Consider this...take the unit you have there, adjust the pots to get a sound you really like, measure each pot and place the readings on a chart (spreadsheet). Once you have a number of them...a big number of them, you could make a system using transistors (yes, I said that horrible word!) that uses a fixed value of the reading you place in the chart and takes it to where the low side of the pot was connected. You turn the transistors on (wonder if you could still use a tube for this...) with a light sensor. Then you construct a "Player Piano" type roll that has holes in it to allow the tones for the time factor needed to play the composition of your genius!
Even if you do nothing with this idea, I love what you are doing with vacuum tubes...keep it up man!!!
Thank you so much!
You know, you're not far off from an actual plan I have! Though instead of building it based around this, I'm planning on building a 5-key piano (inspired by the 5-key keyboard of the Xerox Alto) that uses tube oscillators at specific frequencies. Then the output from that can be fed into some synth panels that can distort and do all sorts of fun stuff. The goal for 2022 is to have essentially a DIY synth with "piano" of sorts to play around with!
Even better, you could just use the photosensors directly in circuit and vary the amount of light. not as accurate, but it could be made to work, if you wanted a fully analogue electromechanical kinda thing. could use punched tape with the holes letting light in, or shading a ribbon of paper with a pencil.
Really like your approach to manufacturing, love the aesthetic and design philosophy you use.
Bodges? Bodges!!?? We don't need no stinkin' bodges!!! Vamanos!!!
Haha, thanks for the laugh this morning!
i'd love to see you made plasma arc speakers with vacuum tubes
HASL is "hot air solder leveling". Essentially they dip the whole board in molten solder and blow the excess off with super hot air. Many prototype board makers will default to lead-based solder for this process. You might want to consider avoiding that for the kits -- It would be begging for a lot of handling of a pretty huge surface area of lead.
Yup, I discovered that after I finished recording and actually looked it up on their website. Lead-based is the default, but I do have the option to go with lead-free, which I will do for the kits. For the first batch of five though, I just wanted to make absolutely sure they were going to be able to produce the really weird design I was asking. The next batches will be lead free and hopefully the main board will be finalized so I can get this into some other people's hands!
While reviewing the schematic you're showing the volume potentiometer set up as a variable resistor. If you've wired it as a typical volume control (one end - signal in, other end - ground, slider - signal out) it would work much better. In the schematic presented in the video you're dividing output impedance of the fourth triode with a resistor.
Also I can't see any biasing resistor for the three output triodes. There should be one.
You're absolutely right about both the biasing resistor for the output triodes and the volume potentiometer. Fortunately, the output triodes seem to work alright for now in their current arrangement, but the volume potentiometer definitely needs to be addressed.
Thanks for the heads up!
I see a flaw in your circuit
the volume pot should be wiper to tube
what you do now is adding a load to earlyer stages to reduce voltage
Good eye! I totally flubbed that part of it, and the really frustrating part is that I know better, haha!
Fortunately, it should be a fairly easy fix with a few bodge wires on the back.
nice, reminds me of sounds i could get screwing around with an old audio toy called the "Sound Gizmo"!!!!!D
I would like to see an electronic organ circuit using 6SN7 tubes. I remember the organ we had in the high school auditorium. It was loaded with 6SN7 tubes. Maybe just make one note or two. The organ can be built.by adding more tubes and circuits.
That's actually totally a future plan!
Though, I probably won't use 6SN7s. But, I may use the 6CG7, which is essentially an 6SN7 in a 9-pin tube!
The plan is to build a 4- or 5-key organ purely out of tubes that can then be fed directly into an amplifier, or fed into separate synth modules to make some interesting sounds. Should be a pretty fun build!
@@UsagiElectric good I will make a 4 octave version maybe a positive organ with 49 notes.
I had a choir director wanted one at UCF many years ago. He wanted one with real pipes I will stick with tubes
6S17K-V tubes may be interesting. They are ceramic triodes with good audio performance and a very high gain due to having extremely tight grid/plate spacing. I don't know how well they would work as a space charge tube, though.
That is a very interesting tube indeed! I don't know if I've ever seen a ceramic triode in person, but I'll definitely keep my eye out for one of those!
This is VERY cool! My dream is to have a pcb of this in 6u eurorack format with a cv to drive it. A cv input would really be a nice feature regardless! Awesome project! I may try building this with my limited electronics skill.
The pin headers are a neat idea.
right on. OG ue555! it is more punk this way I think.
the 2nd build looks so cool. its more art work.
do i hear triangle waves!?
It was a ton of fun to get the OG UE555 back out!
It's definitely more punk to use 34 tubes, but the second design certainly looks prettier sitting on the shelf, haha.
I don't think we have any triangle waves showing up (or there shouldn't be at least), but the tiny output transformers are probably causing all sorts of weird distortion.
Your volume pot is wired completely wrong, it's supposed to work as a voltage divider, not short the signal to the ground. Otherwise cool project!
Good eye! I totally flubbed that part of it, and the really frustrating part is that I know better, haha!
Fortunately, it should be a fairly easy fix with a few bodge wires on the back.
Pretty cool stuff. I always wanted to try a [synth effect type] all-tube vocoder. It would sound amazing, and you are exactly the guy who could pull it off. My ability to actually get things done has never been strong enough to try it myself. Check out some block diagrams some time, it's totally doable (to the same extent that your microprocessor or the 555 timer are totally doable)
Thank you!
I do really want to get more into all tube, low voltage synthesizer stuff this year, but there's so much I don't know. I think my first goal is to start by copying Look Mum No Computer's Kosmo format and start building a DIY synth from there. Once I get the hang of what I'm doing, then we can jump into more complex projects!
@@UsagiElectric time to get brave and dial up the B+ ☠
@@UsagiElectric really though, just keep bein' awesome, and don't let us in the peanut gallery here pressure you into too many new ideas at once. Above all, we wanna keep this fun for you.
Great Project :) This is so ridiculous, so far out there that i want to build this myself ^^
Maybe even Look Mum no Computer is interested in this
Thank you so much! It was a fun little project!
And Look Mum No Computer actually left a comment, which was awesome to see!
Are you familiar with Simon the Magpie? He does a lot of weird audio builds and circuit bending. You and he could do a wicked collaboration. I just discovered your channel, but I'm hooked. Great stuff.
Thank you so much!
I didn't learn of Simon the Magpie until recently, but he's definitely got some great stuff! I would love to do a collaboration with him sometime!
That FTL remix is 😍
Ben Prunty's soundtrack is brilliant, but the remix here is excellent too!
Amazing video! Now build some vacuum tube NAND gates. Build a bunch. Then, build a Monster 6502 based computer using them with VGA output. You may need to build your own nuclear power plant too. LMAO. But seriously, very cool retro goodness!
Me, so far twice into this video: I like this! Oh, darnit, I already liked this video...
Haha, nice!
Thank you!
Way way cool :) Make a kit of that :P
Thank you!
I don't know if I'll make a kit of just this, but I am planning to build some DIY synth modules, and an Usagi Punk module is definitely in the works!
Hey man, found your channel from the mini computer series. The bright blue colour of the machine is what drew me in. Anyway this machine is really cool. It would be good to add a 1/4" jack so that the full sound of the machine can be appreciated, rather than just from the miniature speaker. Really good stuff.
I bet that thing would sound insane if you blasted it thru tube amp and bigger speakers! 😄🤘
I'm not sure my wife would agree with you, haha!
what makes tm7 great is that its an earbud, it has different feel/synergy with the sound produced
bonne année et bonne santee
Merci et bonne année à toi aussi !
Now that's a proper 555!
I like big 555s!
If you add CV and a gate input you can use it with other synths or with a Midi controller with CV (like the Arturia Keystep)
This is why KiCAD and other layout tools have DRC!!! Use DRC and name your nets and you'll never have to bodge a PCB again unless someone else screws up in designing a footprint or something.
Love your videos! Your homemade PCB's always turn out so clean. Do you mind sharing some info about the pins you use for the tube sockets? I haven't seen that construction technique before but it makes so much sense to not use a whole socket assembly for prototyping.
Thank you so much!
For the PCB tube sockets, I just use a custom footprint with little Harwin H3161 1mm PCB pin headers. I believe they're available on both Mouser and Digikey for fairly cheap. The cost per tube is about the same as the cheap ceramic sockets you can find on AliExpress, but I think the PCB pin headers are a little higher quality feeling.
I think you should use a good EDA package. It will prevent you from doing those routing errors on the PCB.
I do use Kicad for everything, professional or home, and I don't think I could ever get back to PCB only tools.
Between electrical rules checking (ERC) on the schematic side and design rules check (DRC) plus cross checking with the schematic (netlist) its really hard to mess the routing.
ever thought about printing out the Gerber's and going over the tracks with a highlighter at the same time doing the same to the circuit. Find the faults before spending the cash on a PCB.
I actually do this quite often! Especially when I want to be sure components fit. I still make a ton of mistakes though, even after confirming things on a print out. Fortunately, the cost per PCB is really pretty low (about $2) since I machine my own boards.
oooh, how pretty !
Thank you!
@@UsagiElectric No, thank you for making this video and sharing it with us, not even mentioning the unexpected reply to my dumb comment :)
oh also, I love the bunny for scale at the end of your videos and even showing ,us who didnt know, that vacuum tubes dont always need high voltages to operate and I would bet if I stumbled upon your channel before Mr Carlson's Lab I would have experimented with them earlier, before I got brave enough for using 300v in my projects, not that I would be able to drive a magic eye with 24 volts anyways ;P
For max. efficiency the volume pot wiper should be connected to the next grid, that way the previous stage is not loaded down.
Yup, I actually had the volume potentiometer wired up totally wrong on this one. I did a light redesign of the board and recut a new one later that fixed this and few other issues.
Very good!
Any plans for Hammond Novachord (or multi Solovox/Univox) controlled by upcoming Tube Computer? Just because why not. Wasn't done in history. Ok we can replace control part with some ARM. :)
That's actually a brilliant idea!
Well, maybe not exactly a Hammond Novachord, but I am planning on building a full-on DIY tube syntehsizer inspired by the eurorack/Kosmo format, and building a Digital Analog Converter module to take eight bits and convert it into something would be an awesome little module. Then, of course, the tube computer will ultimately be able to output an 8-bit value, so I could have a full vacuum tube synthesizer controlled by a full vacuum tube computer. Oh that would be so, so cool!
@@UsagiElectric Of course noone should go with divide-down architecture in any form nowadays. But my main idea is - if you building largest tube projects of modern times (so you have both knowledge and lots of tubes already) why not go for something truly usable and valuable? Tube computer will compute just like semiconductor one. Not the same with sound - it's still all here: endless amplifiers, effects and even tube mixing consoles. But look at such thing as Knifonium - all tube modern synth. Especially it's price tag. Some part of mythicism and audiophilia of course but it sounds great and it looks great and it feels great.
So you can do both commercial or open-source tube synths. And i mean huge, polyphonic ones. Its all about compilation: lots of schematics from "golden era" online along with some open source relatively modern tube synth projects.
Do you think 6J6 tubes could work on this circuit? I got a bunch of those!
Also, have you tried the primaries of the output transformers in parallel instead of in series?
You could always just use a mains power transformer for the same purpose, just rearrange the core plates to an "EI" configuration instead of the interlaced one they come from factory, and isolated the E and I plates from each other with 2 layers of paper, or even kapton tape.
Or make the output a push-pull circuit, then you don't need to modify the transformer.
The 6J6 definitely could work! Obviously the PCB layout would have to be changed to use the 7-pin tube and the shared cathode would actually simplify a bit of the routing, but it definitely should work! Now the 6J6 is a bit of a smaller tube and may not be able to drive as much current through the output transformers, so the volume level may be quite small compared to something like the 6DJ8, but it would certainly be fun to give a shot!
I did try the primaries in parallel, but the volume didn't noticeably increase from that setup. I think the issue comes from how much current the output triodes can push, and by having the primaries in series, there's more internal resistance which makes life a little easier on the triodes.
I have some more audio stuff planned for the future, so I'm quite excited to learn more about weird audio circuits!
HASL = Hot Air Solder Leveled (or leveling). In that process you spray the PCB with flux and then immerse it into a vat of solder followed by the use high pressure hot air knives to blow off all the extra solder, leaving a plating.
I'm curious about your output stage biasing. Grid leakage biasing? Fixed bias should get you the most output power there but will require a negative supply. I'm wondering how that grid leak bias stacks up against normal cathode biasing? I've never seen grid leak used in the power stage of a product that I can recall. For output you may wish to look into space charge tubes like the 12K5 if you haven't already. There's a whole separate space charge tube world with a B+ of 12V few tube people seem to dive into.
Yup, I discovered what HASL meant during editing when I looked it up on their website!
Honestly, for the three output triodes in parallel, I just copied the Fender Champ Amp design. Only without the cathode resistor. Weirdly, I've found that at these super low voltages, not having a cathode resistor allows me to get a little more volume. I think it has to do with the fact that I actually need to drive the grid somewhat positive to get good performance at just 24V.
I would someday love to play with some proper space charge that were designed for 12V on the plate, but they're unfortunately, kind of rare and a little pricey. Someday though, I'll take a proper run at them!
Hi David. At 10:10, what software are you using ?
Also, at 9:38, that print looks extremely familiar, not the Radio Shack Engineers Handbook by any chance?
I want to see an Usagi Kosmo module, or Sam making a module out of the Usagi Punk Console.
One of my goals for 2020 is to build a few DIY Synth modules based on the KOSMO format!
@@UsagiElectric Super cool. I just watched your Heptode video and wondered if one of those could work as the basis of a Voltage Controlled Amplifier.
We used to call the "bodge work" ECOs at IBM... standing for Engineering Change Order... "wow, there were a lot of ECOs on that board!" (not a thing to say to the design engineer!!!)
What make/model CNC mill and which control?
It's a Bridgeport EZTrak 3-axis CNC using the MillPwr Accurite software for control.
I have a whole video planned where I'll go in depth on my entire PCB production process coming soon!
So are you going to make a stylopohne with it? (I.e. make a resistor ladder with a pen style device to contact it and connect this in place of one of the pots]
Not quite! I'm actually planning something a little more complex. I really want to build a 5-key piano (inspired by the 5-key keyboard of the Xerox Alto) and then have the output of that feed into some DIY tube synth modules for some really fun stuff!
Hey Nakazoto! Just realized you had another channel as well! :)
How are your cars all doing? ^_^ Greetings from Oppo!
Howdy! Yup, this is now my primary channel!
Though, I am planning a new video on the Usagi Motors channel sometime soon. The cars are all doing good, though I'm having trouble keeping batteries charged since I don't drive many places anymore because of, you know, the World. The Bellett needs a little maintenance love, and the Gemini is actually going to go up for sale as soon as its safe to have strangers come take it for a test drive. The 117 Coupe and Cosmo are waiting for me to work on them, but they're in line behind the Healey and Bellett. Lots of work to do!
@@UsagiElectric Yay! Your Minica and Bellett are still two of my favorite rides :) How's the little Mitsu? Loved the build thread and story for that! :)
Looking forward to the video! That Cosmo is going to be quite the project!
How are the 3D printed intake trumpets working out?
How about a tube LowPass Filter to run that raw synth sound through?
Filters and synth modules that fit LMNC's Kosmo format are planned for the future!
Bunny, yeah!!!
She totally didn't know what to think of the Atari Punk Console, but since it didn't have any treats, she quickly dismissed it, haha.
I wonder if she liked the "punk music"
FIddling around with different tubes is pretty good fun. swapped around a bunch with my cathode follower headphone amp. unfortunately, the most boring looking and least glowy tubes worked best :-(. I had a big russian output tube and a some weird US ones that looked AWESOME, but sounded pretty poor. Possibly could work in a bluesy guitar amp, but not as a headphone driver. But at the end of the day its an audio device, so the best sounding combo stays. sounds awesome, even if it does draw ~45wto drive headphones.
It is all about the sweetspots 😆
Right! You can get some really wild and fun sounds if you get the potentiometers turned to just the right spot!
excellent work! what is the iphone app used to display info during the demo?
Thank you!
It's a little Android app called "Spectroid". I'm not sure if there's a version of it available for iOS though.
I wonder if someone like Glassinger would be willing to make an Atari Punk Console compacatron?
Ooh, that would be a serious undertaking! Since there's so many passive components involved, it would require really intricate work to encapsulate the passives in their own glass to prevent them from contaminating the vacuum. The Loewe 3NF actually did exactly this! Here's some excellent pictures of the Loewe tubes: www.electricstuff.co.uk/loewe.html
@@UsagiElectric It would look good, though 🙂
I could not remember who, but, I knew that there was a German company that once mad a compacatron for radio. It was said to be the first integrated circuit .
You should build your valve ram out of decatrons.
no grid leak resistor on output triodes?
Can you not use the CV pin to produce Frequency Modulation.
That's a definite possibility!
I was just copying the original design for the Atari Punk Console, but in the new, 4-tube design, it's different enough that a lot of the same principles don't apply. Still, I think the result is a pretty fun little synth toy!
You have the Volume hooked wrong - wiper should be connected to the Grid of the driven tube, so it is a variable voltage divider.
Also you might want to try push pull output ;-)
Good eye! I totally flubbed that part of it, and the really frustrating part is that I know better, haha!
Fortunately, it should be a fairly easy fix with a few bodge wires on the back.
Look, mum! No computer!
(Oh wait, he commented! Soooo fun :))
Indeed!
I think it's time for more "no computer" synth stuff on this channel!
What happens if you mixNmatch the tubes?
Crazy amazing! So the fact that tubes, even the soviet thingies work with such low voltage is rather wild. At one point in your video you said you copied a schematic from google to make that tube vibrator circuit. When you design a circuit for the 24 V how much do you have to adjust the other components, resistors to make that circuit work? I saw that the google schematics had 120 V and more intended. Or is it just simply that you acutally take the high voltage circuit and just apply 24 V instead of couple hundred volts?
Honestly, I was blown away that the soviet tubes worked! I've had terribly luck getting the 6N1P to do anything at low voltages, so it was a total surprise when they actually worked and made their own totally unique sound!
For most of the low-voltage digital computing tube stuff I build, I usually I have to fine tune the resistor values to each specific tube at 24V, which is one of the reasons I almost exclusively use the 6AU6 pentode. But, for audio projects, it seems there's a little more leeway. For this project, I just used the same resistor values as the schematic I found and it seemed to work. In the future, I may revisit this as a module for a DIY synth, and then I'll sit down and try to optimize resistor values for the monostable portion and see if I can't get it working better.
when are you going to boot the mini computer???
The minicomputer is on pause for a little bit.
The reason though is a good one. I've actually been in touch with a former Centurion employee, and I'm confident he can not only help me get it booted, but also help me get the drives back in tip top shape and get some proper Centurion programs running. However, we're both waiting for Corona stuff to calm down a bit before we get him out here to the ranch to help. So, don't worry, I haven't forgotten about it, and when it returns, there will be some awesome stuff to show!
Will these ever be available in kit form or at least have the schematics available?
In its current state, with the wooden box and speaker, I don't think they'll ever be available as a kit. But, ultimately, I would like to modify the design to match the Kosmo synth form factor the LMNC has designed, and those I would like to build out into a kit someday.
The schematics are totally available to anyone that wants it though!
Here's the updated schematic: i.postimg.cc/LXQXjwKL/ATARIPUNKCONSOLE.png
@@UsagiElectric Oh awesome! I'd love to build one, and I might just do that!
5:45 high voltage arc over/ insulation breakdown?
I think you're on point, it's definitely in the high voltage system. There's some pretty old capacitors in the flyback circuit that I think are starting to break down and arc internally. I'm working on replacing them today actually!
Amazing work. Do you share your design files. Would love to build.
Sure thing! I got a lot of stuff wrong on this one, so I don't recommend building it exactly the same, haha. If you want, come join us over on the Discord chat server, it's a lot easier to share designs and schematics there than through RUclips ( discord.gg/p7UsfHD ).
@@UsagiElectric many thanks
absolutely mad
Thank you!
I'm sure this has bean said before but you should make some tube based modular synth modules
That's actually totally a goal of mine for 2022! I want to stick to the KOSMO format that Look Mum No Computer uses, so I need to do a bit of work to figure out the best way to build the modules at +12V to -12V and how to interface them with each other, but it should be a fun project!
Please tell me where you got that wall shelf?
They're beautiful right!
I actually inherited them from my Grandmother who had impeccable taste. These shelves are called the Cado System by Poul Cadovius.
@@UsagiElectric they are very nice indeed
HASL: Hot air solder leveling.
Yup, I discovered that after I finished recording and actually looked it up on their website.
Atari punk? More like bee punk!
I'm not sure what bee punk is, but I'm on board for it!
Did anyone else bring up the Metasonix D1000 tube drum machine?
Moog when? ;)
Maybe not Moog, but expect some KOSMO format synth modules in the future!
Bigger speakers or direct audio please :( Seeing all that work and all those tubes wasted on that speaker is tragic.
I mean, if it were something other than an Atari Punk Console I'd totally agree with you, but it's just supposed to be a simple little toy to fool around with. In the future, I definitely want to build some proper tube synth modules that follow LMNC's Kosmo format, and those will definitely be getting proper audio out jacks for direct audio!
You state in the video "This is a little rediculous" Your definition of "little" is different from most folks.
There is NOTHING ridiculous about anything made with valves! ... Why, some people have been known to make microprocessors with valves 🙂
PS: If some mad person were to build a valve Microprocessor, I think it would be cool if they built a paper tape machine to enter the programs.
That Usagi guy that's building a vacuum tube processor is a little insane I think!
And I have it on good authority that he thought long and hard about using paper tape, but in the end, he thinks magnetic tape is going to win out, specifically reel-to-reel audio tape. There's a lot of interesting things to build to get that working though, so it should be quite fun!
@@UsagiElectric Ooh, a magnetic tap drive would be sooooo coool, but not as archaic as paper tape or as visually engaging as a punch card reader.
It's hard to imagine a guy building vacuum tube circuits in 2022, using an oscilloscope with an LCD screen.
Well, I wanted to use the HP150A, but it was acting up. I've got it repaired though and it's ready to resume daily driver duties!
Haha, I'm the first viewer!!
Pretty sneaky! You actually managed to watch it on YT before I did. I'm guessing you found it through the playlist?
You were using 32 vacuum tubes, not 36, but I see why you made the mistake.